Auto Repair Morgan Hill News : 3-23-13

Toyota’s Entune system delivers a list of Bing search results for local businesses right to the car’s navigation system.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Traffic data, fuel prices, weather, and even streaming music make for great connected car features, but Internet-based local search has gotten surprisingly short shrift from automakers.

In my opinion, local search is the killer feature you probably don’t have.

Whether from Google, Bing, or another search engine, Internet-based local search integrated with a car’s navigation system can help you find everything from hamburgers to hair salons.

Only a few automakers offer local search. When I recently reviewed a BMW 750Li, I found Google search among its BMW Online services. Audi also offers Google integrated with the navigation system in cars such as the A6, not surprising as the navigation system itself uses Google Earth maps.

Toyota includes Bing local search as part of its Entune system, which runs through a smartphone app. [Read More]

As the team prepares to head to the 2013 New York Auto Show next week, they took a moment to sit down and hold a virtual roundtable session. The topic of discussion surrounded some the vehicles that will be revealed in the Big Apple. The first vehicle discussed was the new 2014 Cadillac CTS, and while the team couldn’t say much, we already know…

Commuters: Honda feels your pain. Even better: Honda hopes to alleviate that pain with new software designed to reduce traffic congestion. What’s interesting about this project is that Honda hasn’t simply riffed on existing traffic management programs like those we’ve seen from Inrix and TomTom, which help drivers avoid running into slow-downs. [Read More]